Veto Message

June 28, 2017

Pursuant to the authority vested in me by Article III, Section 3.02 of the Charter and 3.04 of the Administrative Code of the City of Poughkeepsie, I hereby veto Resolution R-17-43 which was adopted by the Common Council at a Special Meeting held on June 27, 2017. This veto is cast within ten days pursuant to Section 3.02 (f) of the City Charter.

On April 20, 2017 I vetoed a similar resolution which proposed to delay the implementation of this vital initiative. That Resolution sought a six-month extension of the City bus service, ostensibly so that the City could further study ways to make our own system efficient and sustainable. Today’s Resolution, cloaked as another attempt to extend funding for the buses, is really an attempt to derail the orderly transfer of the buses themselves to Dutchess County.

Because the buses were largely paid-for by the Federal government, they must continue to be used and they must be transferred to the County, or else the City will be required to pay back the remaining federal interest after depreciation is considered. I have been informed by our Finance Commissioner that this so-called “Federal recapture” could be more than $1.2 Million Dollars.

This Resolution confirms that some current members of our Common Council just do not care about what things cost, or what damage they do to the City’s hopes of regaining its financial footing. In fact, it’s clear they do not care what this Resolution signals to our stakeholders, grantors, or taxpayers.

I hope that this Veto also sends a strong message – a message that we will not continue down the same tried-and-failed paths of the past, that we recognize the strong support we have received and will need for some time, from the County, the State and – most importantly – from within our own community, and that in this battle between fiscal recklessness and good government we either all win – or we all lose.